The Malacca Conspiracy

Preface

The Strait of Malacca is located between the long, Indonesian island of Sumatra and the west coast of the Malaysian Peninsula.

At its northwestern entrance, the shorelines of Indonesia and Thailand are separated by two hundred miles of open water.

Five hundred twenty miles to the southeast, near the city-state of Singapore, the strait narrows into the shape of a funnel. At its narrowest point, eight miles of water separate Indonesia and Malaysia. The strait ends at Singapore, where it flows into the Singapore Strait.

The Singapore Strait, 3.2 miles wide at its narrowest point, begins at Singapore, the busiest port city in the world. Stretching sixty-five miles to the northeast, it empties into the South China Sea, and from there, the Pacific.

The linked Straits of Malacca and Singapore form the shortest sea route between the Indian and Pacific Oceans.

Most of the world’s oil supply is transported on tankers, from the Middle East through these straits.